Starting Today: Reunited Worlds and Man Who Dies To Live

July welcomes a total of seven new prime time Korean dramas, the three of which have aired already—Bride of the Water God, School 2017, and The King Loves. It was just last Monday when the last two premiered head-on and today we have another two dramas that will air later and compete with each other in the same time slot. SBS’s Reunited Worlds and MBC’s Man Who Dies To Liveare the latest additions to our already handful of drama options to consider.

I notice that the two dramas bear one similarity regarding their stories. Reunited Worlds is a fantasy romance drama that will have the girl waiting for the guy and later on meeting him in a way she could not imagine. Similarly, Man Who Dies To Live will present a comedy family drama about one father who wants to reconcile with her estranged daughter he hasn’t seen for years. So we can expect two cases of reunions here, one mixed with laughs and confusion and the other executed with desperation and mystery.

Reunited Worlds

Reunited Worlds got me confused in its synopsis. I thought at first that Sung Hae-sung (played by Yeo Jin-goo) has gone missing during his high school year and re-appeared after 12 years but according to the latest teasers, he has actually died in an accident and somehow come back to life after 12 years. The fantasy aspect of the drama has something to do with him returning home looking exactly the same as when he disappeared, bearing the physical appearance of a 19-year old young man. But the math says he should be 31 already by that time.

I find Yeo Jin-goo’s new role similar to the one he had in Circle—Kim Woo-jin. They resemble in terms of the tragic event that has happened to them. [WARNING: CIRCLE SPOILER ALERT] Kim Woo-jin is hit by a car as he runs away from his enemies who want to use him in their scientific endeavor that is morally unacceptable. He passes away but after several years, he comes back looking exactly the same as when he got into the car accident. Meanwhile, in Reunited Worlds Yeo Jin-goo’s character, Sung Hae-sung, is also going to die by a car accident and after 12 years, he returns home alive with his physical appearance unchanged, not having aged a day in over a decade. Coincidence? I assume Yeo Jin-goo somehow chose this project because it reminded him of Circle.

Lee Yeon-hee is playing the character of Jung Jung-won, the childhood friend of Sung Hae-sung who grows up believing that her best friend died in a car accident and lives her life with guilt thinking that he died because of her. She used to be a cheerful and bright woman but her personality changes after the incident. She must be very close with Sung Hae-sung considering how she gives up her dream to become a comics artist and instead works as a chef to fulfill the dream of Sung Hae-sung. The gloominess of the story is really apparent but I hope the show uses this element wisely to keep the viewers interested til episode 32. Also, I hope the reunion of a 31-year-old and a 19-year-old and their subsequent kissing (if any) won’t be awkward.

It’s been months since I last watched a Wednesday-Thursday drama so I might check the first episode of this fantasy romance from SBS. I am particularly interested in the mystery surrounding the main character’s death and resurrection. And why is the drama called Reunited Worlds? Did the 19-year old Sung Hae-sung who appears 12 years later travel from a parallel universe? Mmm, if so that would make this drama a sci-fi. 🙂

Man Who Dies To Live

Man Who Dies To Live is a 24-episode (about 35 minutes each) family comedy that centers on Jang Dal-koo, a man who leaves Korea in the mid-1970s to find his luck in the fictional Middle East kingdom of Bodantia. Fortunately, he does find his luck, becoming a billionaire CEO who has almost everything. But one day he decides to return to Korea and find his daughter named Lee Ji-young. It’s not going to be easy though as there are two candidates with the same name.

This wacky drama will probably make us laugh with its find-the-real-daughter plot. Kang Ye-won and Lee So-yeon are playing the potential daughter, with one being a housewife to an ordinary salaryman (played by Shin Sung-rok) and the other being an elegant career woman who cares little about other people’s perception of her. The promotional posters and teasers suggest that this drama is really going to be a light and hilarious show but I guess it could also be a tear-jerker sometimes based on this part of the synopsis: His relationship with his daughter then undergoes change and he comes to realize the true meaning of family.

Two more shows will have their premiere next week. This slew of dramas coming at us in groups really tires me out especially if they all turn out to be very good. I already have six in my currently-watching list, so I can’t check Man Who Dies To Live immediately. I have my eyes on Criminal Minds though, hoping for it to become a crack crime drama that could well match my favorite Tunnel.

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Me? Just an ordinary lad with an extraordinary (says this something called 'stereotype') habit of watching Korean dramas. It started with action-filled City Hunter and the rest, as they say, is history.